Composting

[Chris Hennes]

Melons and squash seem to have an amazing affinity for compost heaps, even young ones where you wouldn't think the nutrients were actually available to use yet. I've actually got a tomato growing in mine this year too, in addition to the usual squash volunteers.

[Mjx]

Wait: I was told that if you have things growing on it, it isn't a compost heap, but a tip for green waste, since the end-product of composting is supposed to be this black, soil-like stuff. Is 'compost' now a broader term than when I was a kid (and my mum would hold forth at length on this subject at mind-numbing length)?

ETA: I see that heaping up green waste without containing it in something that raises the internal temperature is 'cold composting'; don't think I knew that.

[Jmahl]

Wait: I was told that if you have things growing on it, it isn't a compost heap, but a tip for green waste, since the end-product of composting is supposed to be this black, soil-like stuff. Is 'compost' now a broader term than when I was a kid (and my mum would hold forth at length on this subject at mind-numbing length)?

ETA: I see that heaping up green waste without containing it in something that raises the internal temperature is 'cold composting'; don't think I knew that.

You are probably technically correct, but here in South Texas with daily temperatures over 100 degrees in the shade kitchen waste mixed in the garden disappears pretty quick.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Please DO NOT try to put corn husks in the garbage disposal. The tough fiber will clog it every time. I used to forget and do it every decade or so. They seem so pliant, and when you gnaw on them, they're actually a little sweet.

 

Compost them, just throw them in the garbage, or do like I've started doing, and freeze them for making tamales. They're even better than the dried ones you can buy at Hispanic shops.

 

I believe I've tried to Insinkerator husks about three times in my life. 

[gfweb]

And don't let your dog eat corn cobs. Almost guaranteed trip to vet for blocked intestine.

[scubadoo97]

Yikes [emoji33]

[rotuts]

in my area, 'compost' at the towns 'receiving' areas are free for the taking.  I have no idea what would happen id stores sent there compostawble waste there

 

or even where they send it.   'meat' is not considered 'compostable' in a general sense as it requires 'extra' care if you choose to do so.

 

does anyone know where 'store' waste goes ?   i could not find any info, my area or not.

Edited May 23, 2015 by rotuts (log)

[Deryn]

In Nova Scotia, meat is compostable. In fact, you are not permitted to put meat scraps, bones, etc. into regular waste. If you do, they don't pick it up for another week - and believe me the garbage men scrutinize every bag you put out for collection. (As an aside, this surprised me when I first arrived there as I would not put meat or bones in my own compost pile.)

 

I feed my dog rotisserie chickens which are picked clean by me (so he doesn't get any bones) so I have at least one chicken carcass a day that goes into the recycling bin.

 

I have to separate every darned thing into different bins and everything has to be contained in a different kind of plastic bag (for which I pay a fair bit too) that does not obscure a good view of its contents. So I pay heavily for the 'privilege' of being a good citizen. Additionally, I have no idea where the 'compost' product goes - it certainly is not given out for free where I live. I doubt it is even composted in my area - but is probably shipped some distance to be processed - and never returned.

 

In North Carolina where my other abode is, just about everything can go into the regular garbage. Although they like to 'encourage' you to put plastic, paper and bottles, etc. into a different container, it seems no one insists I do any recycling at all and I can put it all in a dark garbage bag without anyone questioning its contents.

 

I agree that it is good to produce compost (though that does happen naturally over time where ever food waste is dumped - it just can't be usefully separated from other garbage in this decade if it goes to the regular dump area) and in order to do that, it is necessary to have the 'homeowner' separate it out first. However, there is no consistency in how this is done from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and the short term benefits are not always as good as some would have you think.

Edited May 23, 2015 by Deryn (log)

[rotuts]

what do people do that have no 'compostable' area to put their food 'trimmings'

 

'flesh' is of course compostable but if not done carefully attracts all sorts of evil things.  many of them bite.

[dcarch]

This post has been moved from the Do you discard the meat on bones (for stock)? topic, as it has nothing whatever to do with using with the meat left over from making stock.
 

 

----------- The bones are composted.

 
How do you do it?
 
I use my garden shredder to chop the bones, including large bones, to tiny bits. Very easy after pressure cooking the bones.
 
dcarch

Edited July 4, 2015 by Mjx
Note added. (log)

[Martin Fisher]

Yeah, bones from younger animals are easily composted after pressure cooking because they're so soft.

 

Hard bones can be softened with wet wood ashes...there are many references to the technique in old agrarian books and journals.

 

Here's one.....

 

 

Source: New England Farmer, and Horticultural Register, Volume 20, 1841

[andiesenji]

This post and the following responses were moved here from the I will never again . . . (Part 4) topic.
 

Plugged up the disposer yet again​, this time with apple peelings!​  Clearly I am a slow learner or  the disposer is out to get me.
Otoh, I'm quickly becoming a master at dismantling the plumbing!

Have you ever considered composting your vegetable waste, instead of sending it into the sewer?  There are numerous advantages even if you only have a few container plants.  Worm composting is extremely efficeint at disposing of all kinds of vegetable and fruit scraps.

Edited September 29, 2015 by Mjx
Posts moved to relevant discussion. (log)

[lindag]

Have you ever considered composting your vegetable waste, instead of sending it into the sewer?  There are numerous advantages even if you only have a few container plants.  Worm composting is extremely efficeint at disposing of all kinds of vegetable and fruit scraps.

 

Actually, no.  I have little use for composted materials.  I do not garden and have few plants, not worth the mess, for me.. 

Where I live, we don't even have recycling...the population is so sparse that it is just too costly.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

lindag,

 

That must have been a really large load of apple peels to mess with your disposer. Mine balks on the papery skins from onions and especially corn husks. 

 

If the population is so sparse where you are, you probably have more wildlife than I do, and I live smack in the middle of old downtown Cary. The population was 26,000 when I moved here in 1986, but it's over 150,000 now. I still have lots of birds, squirrels. raccoons, opossums, and I have even seen a few deer and owls recently. If I wished to compost food scraps for gardening, I would have to contain it in a wildlife-proof container.

 

You would truly be surprised how quickly food scraps disappear if you have wildlife on your property. I put out watermelon rinds, and within a few days, they are eaten down to the skin, which then decomposes. It helps that I have mature trees and brush to provide privacy from neighbors and cover to attract the wildlife. My home also backs up to a stream. If your home is on a clear cut lot, you might not have enough wildlife for this idea to work for you, but if do have wildlife, stuff like your apple parings disappears in no time.

[liuzhou]

 

If I wished to compost food scraps for gardening, I would have to contain it in a wildlife-proof container.

 

You would truly be surprised how quickly food scraps disappear if you have wildlife on your property. 

 

That is another kind of composting.

[cyalexa]

My purchased plastic composter needs to be replaced. It lasted about 10 years but was always cumbersome to empty. If you have a purchased composter that you like, please share the info. Thanks in advance.

[ElainaA]

My husband built my compost bin, however our cousins use this one and really like it:

 

http://www.gardeners.com/buy/three-bin-wire-composter/40-280.html?cgid=Composters_Cat&start=2

Edited September 30, 2015 by ElainaA (log)

[cyalexa]

My husband built my compost bin, however our cousins use this one and really like it:

 

http://www.gardeners.com/buy/three-bin-wire-composter/40-280.html?cgid=Composters_Cat&start=2

thanks!

[kayb]

I was shopping at Lowes the other day with an eye toward garden prep for spring and saw something I think would work for compost. It's a pair of 36-inch 2x4 woven wire fence panels, hinged together, with stakes to drive them into the ground. I believe I could get two such sections, set them up in a square, and have a fine compost bin.

[cyalexa]

I ordered this:

 

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Good-Ideas-52-Gallon-Compost-Wizard-Jr.-Recycled-Plastic-Compost-Tumbler/17431222

 

I need the simplicity of easy rolling - I know I would neglect turning the compost with a shovel. It may be a bit small but if I like it i can always order a second one. It seemed reasonably priced at $84

[hummingbirdkiss]

please give an update as to how you like it I was thinking about getting one for each garden ..the chickens ducks and now the pig are destroying all my attempts at building compost and while it is ok to shovel it back up for the garden I would prefer to have a neater system ….I want to designate WHERE the compost is used right now it is a free for all out there ..this looks neat and unobtrusive. 

I ordered this:

 

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Good-Ideas-52-Gallon-Compost-Wizard-Jr.-Recycled-Plastic-Compost-Tumbler/17431222

 

I need the simplicity of easy rolling - I know I would neglect turning the compost with a shovel. It may be a bit small but if I like it i can always order a second one. It seemed reasonably priced at $84

[hummingbirdkiss]

a little off topic but I pressure cook bones into mush with vegetables and then freeze it in cupcake pan then put them in freezer bags  for dog treats ..my dogs have always adored this snack 

Yeah, bones from younger animals are easily composted after pressure cooking because they're so soft.

 

Hard bones can be softened with wet wood ashes...there are many references to the technique in old agrarian books and journals.

 

Here's one.....

 

 

Source: New England Farmer, and Horticultural Register, Volume 20, 1841

Edited October 14, 2015 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[cyalexa]

please give an update as to how you like it I was thinking about getting one for each garden ..the chickens ducks and now the pig are destroying all my attempts at building compost and while it is ok to shovel it back up for the garden I would prefer to have a neater system ….I want to designate WHERE the compost is used right now it is a free for all out there ..this looks neat and unobtrusive. 

So far so good. 

[kc2rock]

I've had several types of enclosed (approved for city backyards) composters.

This was the first: http://www.joyofworms.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/earth-machine-composter-jpg.jpg

You put stuff in the top, and the theory was that as it worked its way to the bottom, it would compost. It kinda worked; the easiest way to turn it was to churn it with a length of rebar. I also built a platform of cinder blocks to put it on so getting the finished product out was easier.

This was the second: http://mantis.com/global/mantis-compact-compostumbler/03.jpg

It worked (especially if one remembered to spin it every few days...), but since we were always adding new stuff to it, we never got finished compost, until we added one of these: http://p-fst2.pixstatic.com/525468d9697ab04f94004cb6._w.362_s.fit_.jpg.

We'd fill up the rotating bin, and then use the black plastic one to put stuff into until the rotating bin compost was ready for the garden.

(note to self...must learn how to put photos in to posts...)

ETA: I composted most all kitchen veg waste, as well as coffee grounds (w/paper filters), tea bags (with labels and staples), egg shells, shrimp, lobster and crab shells (you have to bury them in the middle, but they heat up the pile something fierce!), stale/moldy bread, cooked rice, raked up leaves. NEVER any diseased plants or weeds, and no fats, meats/bones, or dairy.

Edited October 19, 2015 by kc2rock (log)